Determining Liability in a Car Accident Claim

Determining Liability in a Car Accident Claim

The aftermath of a car accident may leave you in such a state of shock that getting legal help for damage recovery remains at the back of your mind. In most cases, people opt for it much later, hampering the scope of recovery of the damages. Consulting a car accident attorney is necessary if you think that someone else was responsible for the incident.

The most important question to determine is – who is at fault? Ascertaining fault and proving it requires legal expertise. Florida laws give you a right to file for damage recovery. However, to do this, you need a legal practitioner’s help to prove that another’s negligence was the cause of the injuries and other damages.

A car accident may have numerous causes. The exact circumstances of your case are a determining factor in ascertaining fault. Suppose a drunk driver hit you and you suffer injuries. In this case, fault is with that driver. However, if someone hit you because of faulty brakes, the fault may be with the vehicle manufacturer.

A competent attorney would utilize the help of evidence and expert testimonials to analyze the circumstances and help you understand the right entity to sue. For this task, he/she would need the help of accident site re-constructionists, forensic experts, mechanics, and other professionals.

The negligence factor is of importance. Your Fort Lauderdale car accident attorney needs to prove that another (e.g. drunk driver or car manufacturer) had a duty of reasonable care. That is the driver had the duty to drive with reasonable care and the manufacturer had the duty to use reasonable care while manufacturing the car/car parts.

The next thing to do is prove that there was a negligent action, which is a breach of the duty to care. Keep in mind that you would not receive any compensation if there were no significant damages. The establishment of the ‘causation’ relation between the breach to the duty and the occurrence of the damages is also essential.

The next step involves ascertaining whether the victim was at fault too. Florida contributory negligence law states that the victim may recover damages even if he/she was at fault, but the amount decreases according to the degree of his/her fault. It is evident that various factors affect the determination of fault in a car accident.

It is, therefore, of utmost importance to get a qualified, certified and experienced attorney for the case.